This invention pertains to a method and apparatus for re-forming and maintaining the circular shape of a deformed roll of material and is particularly useful in conjunction with re-establishing the annular nature of a coil of material for use in a sheeting system wherein a web of material will be unwound from the coiled roll and portions of the web cut into predetermined lengths, i.e., "sheets". Such sheeting systems typically are found in the steel industry where a length of metal is wrapped as a coil and, ultimately, unwound as another machine cuts the web of steel into predetermined lengths.
Heretofore, there has been some significant loss in the amount of useable metal contained in a given coil where the coil has, for example, been dropped and deformed prior to unwinding so as to cause the roll to be unbalanced during rotation. It will be readily evident that a coil which has been deformed in the foregoing manner will be unsuitable for mounting upon a rotating support spindle in view of the fact that the mass of the coil will be unevenly distributed therearound so as to cause erratic and slower feeding of the sheet material from the coil.
Accordingly, there has been a need for "opening" otherwise crushed center openings of coils of material so as to re-form the coil for mounting upon a rotatable support spindle. In view of the fact that the coil is typically a metal coil wherein there will be some resilience within the coil after it has been wound, the center opening of the coil will necessarily have to be retained in its circular configuration after initially re-forming the opening so as to prevent the coil from returning to its earlier damaged shape.